MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — Lee Thennes is now Manitowoc School's interim superintendent talking about the needs of the district.
- Lee Thennes has been appointed as Manitowoc's interim superintendent following the resignation of Jim Feil.
- Thennes says transparency and communication are where the district can improve.
- As interim, Thennes will remain at the spot until June of 2025.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I sat down with Lee Thennes who, at least for now, is taking over Manitowoc School's top job in a time of significant change for the district.
After Jim Feil resigned in August, Thennes, a former Manitowoc Lincoln principal, was promoted to interim superintendent.
"We are not going to use the term 'lame duck interim' because there is so much that needs to be done",” says Thennes. “We need to do a better job of sharing some of the great things that we do here."
The first priority in some of the community's mind, the aging facilities need. An audit done last school year found nearly $160 million dollars in repairs at the district's locations.
"We have to think about where we are investing those dollars, because we don't want to make investments that are going to end up potentially not being around,” said Thennes.
A consolidation proposal was voted down in July. Thennes now says they'll put out a public survey to help guide next steps.
"What do we do with what the community is telling us, with what we know our needs are, and then putting together some options that we can have our school board be educated about,” Thennes said.
He acknowledged friction between the district and the community at times in the recent past. He says the fix is transparency with the board and the public.
"Some of the challenges that we have won't go away like our aging facilities and some of the work we need to do,” Thennes says. "By involving our stakeholders a little bit more, we can be on a path to better climate and culture."
There is no word yet on the official superintendent search. For now, Thennes is signed on to act in the interim role until June of 2025.
